


Rescue

by DrabblingSparks (ingenious_spark)



Series: Silmarillion prompts & short fic [8]
Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Drabble, Implied/Referenced Torture, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, M/M, Pre-Fall of Gondolin, Prompt Fic, Rescue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-09 00:49:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16439951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ingenious_spark/pseuds/DrabblingSparks
Summary: Tyelperinquar finds his soulmate in the strangest and worst of circumstances- ensorcelled and heading back to his home.





	Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> From a list of prompts over on my tumblr, [@oopsbirdficced](http://oopsbirdficced.tumblr.com). I open prompts semi-regularly, if you want to come check me out. This was a batch from about a month ago.

Tyelperinquar’s soulmark doesn’t activate until he’s near to four hundred. It’s fine to him, the line of delicately intertwined leaves that spans his arm from the crook of his elbow to the delicate bones of his wrist are still largely black- they’re not filling in fast enough to indicate that Tyelperinquar will meet his soulmate below the age of majority, at a hundred. He won’t be that much older, perhaps fifty years or so, if Tyelperinquar is estimating correctly, but they will be older.

He’s living in Nargothrond, and it’s good, for a while, until his father shows up. After he does, Tyelperinquar’s mother begins to withdraw into herself. It’s difficult for Tyelperinquar to watch, seeing her watch her every move, afraid she’ll run into him. It eats at him, so he gently takes her aside and proposes that they move. She agrees with an exhausted relief that’s difficult to watch, but also relieving for him.

They live simple, nomadic lives for a while. Even so, it’s shocking to hear news of what happens- Finrod’s death, and later his father’s, with the Second Kinslaying at Doriath. They’re both shaken by that news, and stay longer than they’d intended in the tiny community they’ve ended up in, near the mountains. Tyelperinquar’s mother is in a complicated state of mourning.

Tyelperinquar takes to walking as a way of coping with his own conflicted grief.

Then they hear Nargothrond has fallen, and that’s a simpler grief, somehow easier to deal with. They’ve somehow managed to put down roots in this village nestled at the base of a mountain, it’s only protection that of camouflage- the houses are built into the trees, and disguised cleverly. The community itself numbers less than a hundred people, and that’s with the two of them included.

Tyelperinquar’s leaves slowly color from a dormant black to a bright, verdant green. He barely tracks their progress anymore. He’s not sure he wants to meet his soulmate anymore.

So it’s a surprise when he finds an elf, wandering towards their mountain, looking oddly pristine in their cleanliness, with an almost vacant expression. Tyelperinquar hauls him quietly, and he half-turns, a strange, feverish light in their pale eyes. Tyelperinquar almost balks when he reaches out a hand and sees that the last leaf under his sleeve is fully green.

“Are you well,” he asks softly, heart in his throat.

“I must get back to Gondolin.” the other elf replies.

“I- um. Where is Gondolin, then?” Tyelperinquar tries.

“I must get back to Gondolin,” they reply again, and now Tyelperinquar knows something is wrong with his soulmate.

“You’re my soulmate, see?” He rolls up his sleeve. “The last leaf just inked in.” They should have matched leaves as well, in their shape and the way they twine.

“I must get back to Gondolin,” the other repeats back to him again, and turns away from Tyelperinquar. He swears under his breath.

“Forgive me,” he says softly, and knocks his soulmate out. He can hear the regular tramping of orcs too close for comfort, and hurriedly scoops the other elf up and puts him gently over his shoulders. The strange elf hadn’t been covering their tracks, chances are the orcs are tracking them down. Time to get the hunting band.

Tyelperinquar disappears himself and his burden into the trees, leaving no trace of his presence, and alerts the town’s hunting bands of the orcs’ presence. Then he takes his soulmate to his house and fetches his mother.

She listens to his explanation as she examines the elf. Their skin is very strangely markless, with no scars, bruises, blemishes, or even moles or freckles. It’s unnatural- and soon they realize it really is unnatural.

The elf is under so many spells it’s a wonder he’s not dripping magic from his pores- also strangely absent. Tyelperinquar runs to get the spirit healer, and the regular healer for good measure as well.

Together the manage to pull the foul magic from his body and cleanse his spirit. It takes days, after Tyelperinquar is tasked to carry his soulmate back to the healers’ house. What they find beneath is horrifying. This elf has clearly been tortured.

Tyelperinquar vows to do whatever he can to help them heal.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the LLF Comment Project, which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
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